South Little Bear

Date: 7/24/2024
Partner: Trevor Tillett
Trailhead: Lake Como Road 10,200ft (4x4)
Summits: Little Bear & South Little Bear
Distance: 8.9m
Elevation Gain: 5000ft
Duration: 9hrs (casual)
GPX

Little Bear 14ers.com Page

My initial plan for South Little Bear was to climb it's southwest ridge, traverse out and back to Little Bear then retrace my steps back down.

It was 8pm the evening before the hike and I was ready to knod off in the back of my truck. I was at the intersection of Twenty Forth and Finton, the start of the SW ridge route. Before going to sleep I decided to read a trip report on the route. After reading a report or two I realized I was in for a 12-15 hour day consisting of bushwhacking in the dark and miles of tedious talus hopping both up and down. Damn... I was not in the headspace for this type of day. I should know by now to do at least a little research. Although it was late, I decided to drive the Lake Como road and climb the Hourglass instead. I got out of my sleeping bag and drove to 10,200ft on the Lake Como road where I slept.

My cardinal rule for climbing the Hourglass is to avoid having climbers above me. The Hourglass is fun to climb but dangerous when it comes to rock fall. My strategy in the past was to camp at Lake Como and start before 5am. However the next morning I didn't start until 5:45am and I was a good hour below the lake. I was feeling a little stressed.

When I reached the base of the Hourglass I met up with another solo climber, Trevor, who confirmed that there was no one above us. I was relieved.

Looking up the intimidating Hourglass, Trevor was contemplating turning back. Little Bear would be his 45th and most difficult 14er summit. Maybe the solo attempt was a little much he thought.

After chatting for a bit we agreed to ascend the Hourglass together.

The plan was to climb Little Bear together and Trevor would descend back to camp while I tagged South.

Once we reached the summit, the view of South was too much for Trevor to resist. We had a great time doing the out and back traverse together.

I have summitted Little Bear four times now and this would be my first time not traversing to Blanca.

While the ridge between Little Bear and South Little Bear is no Blanca traverse (best 14er scramble in the state), it is fun and completely worth while. The rock is fairly solid, the ridge is exposed and there is some engaging route finding.

So if you find yourself on Little Bear's summit and want more scrambling, but don't want to traverse to Blanca, the out and back to South is a great option. It should take 45 minutes to an hour each way and has some great class 3/4 scrambling.